The biggest downside to Amazon’s Unbox service for TiVo—other than the painfully slow download times and the inability to start playing a video while it’s still downloading—is that you have to go to your computer to order a download to use on your TiVo. Today, Amazon and TiVo announced that this is no longer necessary, as you can now rent or buy Unbox videos directly through your TiVo interface. You’ll need to setup a personal identification number, or PIN, to enter each time you make an Unbox purchase from your TiVo DVR (you know, to keep the kids from slowly loading up your hard drive with crap). Then, on your TiVo go to “TiVo Central” and select “Find Programs,” “Download TV & Movies,” then “Amazon Unbox.” → Read More
Amazon’s Unbox downloadable video service now works on TiVo. The video library leaves a lot to be desired right now. (The Illusionist and Prison Break? Yeah, no thanks.) You’ll get no deal on the prices, either: $9.99 to buy a movie and $1.99 per one-month rental, though you should expect to pay more for “hits.” For example, that feel-good dark comedy Little Miss Sunshine will set you back $3.99 for a one-month rental. We’re not all sour grapes. Videos can be re-downloaded over and over again to any of your registered devices. Also, if you sign up before April 30 you get a $15 credit. Cool, but not nearly as cool as cruising Usenet. Unbox [Amazon via Zatz Not Funny] → Read More
We started testing the various movie download services earlier this summer when rumors of Apple’s new movie download store first heated up. We’re now regular customers of three of the services. Michael Arrington is an iTunes junkie because he likes having movies and music videos on his iPod, Nik Cubrilovic likes Movielink and I’m hooked on Guba’s very low prices. For those of you considering ditching the Netflix account or the weekly trip to Blockbuster and downloading movies instead, one of these might be just what you’re looking for. If you are a Mac user, the choice is easy. Only iTunes will work on your platform. If you are on a PC you can try any of the services below, which include CinemaNow, Movielink, Guba, Amazon Unbox and iTunes. Note, however, that you’ll be forced to use Internet Explorer to download these movies unless you use iTunes or Amazon Unbox. DRM is a big part of all of these products. Make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully before agreeing. At least for Amazon Unbox, the terms are somewhat draconian. DRM will keep many users away who’d like the ability to burn movies to DVD, transfer to other computers, etc. These users will simply purchase and rip DVDs directly (removing DRM), or use bittorent to acquire movies. More on each below. Guba Since branching out from their Usenet product through a deal to sell Waner Bros. movies in June and Sony movies in July, GUBA has mainly been competing on price and referral fees for recommending more users to the site. GUBA also features user-generated and usenet videos for free alongside premium movies users can buy or rent. Usenet movies can be downloaded in iPod and PSP formats as well. CinemaNow CinemaNow’s most recent claim to fame has been their release of “Too Fast Too Furious” online at the same time as the DVD release, an industry first. They also have a Burn-to-DVD feature that allows you to burn a DVD playable on almost any DVD player for select titles. CinemaNow provides movies from Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, NBC Universal, Sony, and Warner Bros. Like most of the others, CinemaNow requires users to have a Windows PC and use Internet Explorer. MovieLink Formed out of a joint venture between major movie studios, Movielink has by far the largest catalog of new release and library titles. Their major partners include MGM, → Read More
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